Arizona Election Workers Face Violent Threats Counting Down to Midterms

Election workers in a hotly contested Arizona district are facing more heat ahead of the state’s midterm elections, including harassment, intimidation, and death threats. Poll workers in Maricopa County, where a 2020 Biden-win resulted in a massive vote audit at the behest of Republican officials and voters, received at least 140 threats between July 11 and Aug. 22, according to records retrieved by Reuters. “You will all be executed,” wrote one emailer. “Wire around their limbs and tied & dragged by a car,” wrote another. Other employees reported being stalked or photographed while working. In April, local officials began preparing for an anticipated attack by simulating violence in a drill where people were killed. “This is just one other tool we can use to ensure election safety for all,” said Lisa Marra, president of the Election Officials of Arizona, of the drill. The escalating threat of violence has made it “more and more difficult” to do the job, according to a Maricopa information security officer.